


Love Is Red (With Every Shade Of Blue)

by bibliomaniac



Category: 17776: What Football Will Look Like in the Future - Jon Bois
Genre: Falling In Love, I can't believe I actually did this, I have no defense, Love Confessions, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 22:22:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15760908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bibliomaniac/pseuds/bibliomaniac
Summary: Nine says they love everyone all the time--Juice included. That would hurt less if Juice weren'tactuallyin love with them.((aka nine isn't that great at emotions but juice isn't either. they work it out. ten helps))





	Love Is Red (With Every Shade Of Blue)

**Author's Note:**

> note: nine's dialogue is left justified, ten's is center justified, juice is right justified. pls be sure to look to the right lol
> 
> title is from the song by paper route, the lyrics of which do not apply thematically but the title applies to the conversation in the middle
> 
> did i have any reservations about writing a story about space junk falling in love for a tag that barely exists? yes, i just quickly dismissed those reservations because i'm a dumbass with proclivities and without shame. i finished 17776 for the first time the other day and i had emotions so i funneled those emotions into space probe romance. the devil alone will judge me

Saying you love someone, Nine decides, is very easy.

Three words minimum--maybe two if you’re not too picky about personal pronouns. A verb and an object. Classic, simple, and it makes the other person happy. Plus sometimes they say it back, and that feels nice. There are no drawbacks to the phrase, which is a nice thing to be able to rely on when there are so many conversational missteps to be had.

“I love you,” they tell Nancy at the end of their second conversation, and she laughs with delighted surprise and tells them that they’re adorable and she’s enjoyed their little talk as well.

“I love you,” they inform Hubble after he talks to them about photography. “I love you,” they tell Lacrecia, and the Last Steeler, and anybody else they strike up a conversation with. They’ve been asleep for long enough that they figure they have enough I-love-yous to go around. And anyway, everybody’s been so kind to them while they work things out and ask questions and try to fill in gaps in their history.

“I love you,” they tell Ten and Juice, and it is especially easy to tell them that. Ten, their sister, and Juice, their...Juice. Juice defies categorization. But friend, perhaps. Best friend. He and Ten are the ones who took Nine out of mindless nothing and into a life that is as intriguing as it is confusing, into a life where they can have people to love in the first place.

“I love you,” they tell them again, and they are glad they have the words.

They do not have the words, unfortunately, for why talking to Juice is just a bit different than talking to everybody else. Talking to Ten is different too, but in a way that is different from Juice, and they assume it has something to do with their self-proclaimed sibling bond. But with Juice, they do not have that reason. It is flummoxing.

Juice is funny and witty and clever. Juice is knowledgeable, but he reserves a large part of his knowledge for seemingly inconsequential minutiae that makes Ten scoff and makes Nine want to understand Juice better. Juice is irreverent, informal. He talks too much, Ten says, without really stopping to think about what his words might mean, or what the impact of his words might be. Nine does not know that they agree with that assessment. From what they’ve observed over the year and half since they woke, Juice is almost always considering his impact. Occasionally he will be insensitive, but only for a few moments before he apologizes. Most of the time, his nonchalance is more tool than anything else. He uses it to defuse tense situations, to make people laugh or roll their eyes (sometimes figuratively, in Nine and Ten’s case), to make big things seem small enough to manage. He also uses it to mask his own emotions, which Nine thinks is unfortunate. But when the situation genuinely requires sincerity, Juice does not shy away from genuine expression. When Nine needs someone to talk to, or when Nine needs a distraction, or when Nine just needs companionable silence, they go to Juice often. They think, in a way, Juice understands them better than Ten does. They do not love Ten any less for it, of course, but Juice is...well. As they said already. Different.

Ten says sometimes that she thinks it’s just easier for Juice not to care. Nine thinks Juice cares more than anybody they know.

And for that, and many other reasons, it is very easy, easier than anything, the easiest thing they’ve ever done, to say they love Juice. Because they do. They do not know why they feel so much happier than normal when Juice is available to talk, why they feel such delight when Juice talks to them without anybody else around, why they feel like they could keep going for years and years and forever when Juice says he loves them too, though not in so many words. They do not know why saying they love him rings true in that special, different way. But it doesn’t really matter to them. It is true that they love him, so they tell him that whenever that happy, incomprehensible, no-words feeling sweeps over them, which is frequently. They are glad that those words at least seem to come close to the feeling that they cannot name.

 

* * *

 

Saying you love someone is the hardest thing in the world, Juice thinks despairingly.

Or maybe not the hardest. The hardest might be hearing it from someone you love and knowing they mean it in an entirely different way than what you feel.

Nine says ‘I love you’ to _everybody._ Like, fuckin’ everybody, seriously. They got in contact with Ed Krieger and told him, with utter sincerity, that they loved him. With no preface, mind you. Just like, ring ring motherfucker, did you know there’s a piece of space debris out there who loves you?

It’s awful and also incredibly endearing.

Juice knows that Nine is still figuring out emotions, figuring out their place in this new world and time. He knows that. It doesn’t make it easier when he sees Nine handing out I-love-yous to everybody like it’s Halloween and they’re a suburban momma with a bag full of fun-size candy bars. It also doesn’t make it easier to deal with some of those I-love-yous being doled out to him. And by some he means a lot.

 

.look im just sayin theres a lot of bullshit out of the early 21st century but like

.vine was a human treasure

.like even the ones that got overdone as hell hold a special place in my cold mechanical kokoro

.turn on an old vine comp and try to tell me you experience anything other than sheer fuckin delight

.I don’t know if I’m exactly the target demographic.

.fuck that

.aint nobody targeting space junk

.theres never been a marketer like

.you know whod dig this

.space probes

.whats more important is just what you like

.I guess that’s true.

.Hey, Juice?

.I love you.

.yeah buddy got that the past million times

.but thanks and all

 

He knows the precise number of times Nine has said it, actually. It’s less than a million, but still a lot. Still enough to hurt.

 

.You know

.You never say you love me

 

Juice doesn’t have a heart to stop, but he thinks his processing software might short out for a millisecond or two.

 

.what do you mean

.You say ‘love y’all’ when you’re talking to me as part of a group, like in a group chat with me and Ten.

.And you’ve said ‘same i guess’ or similar things when I am overwhelmed and in need of emotional support.

.The majority of the time you respond to me saying it by saying you know, which may or may not be a Star Wars reference, or you say thanks.

.You’ve never said, directly, ‘I love you’, or even ‘I love you too’.

.sure i have

 

He tries to keep the panic from his syntax. Nine can be a dumbass, but they’re also uncannily perceptive at times, and they absolutely don’t need to pick up on Juice’s...feelings, or whatever. They’re right, of course. He’s never said those words exactly. He’s a little bit terrified that Nine will be able to tell he means them too much.

 

.No, you haven’t.

.I keep all of our conversations in my onboard memory.

.Special partition and everything.

.You’ve never said it.

.I mean...not that you’re obligated to, or anything. I just noticed it, is all.

.Are you uncomfortable with those words?

.Does it make you uncomfortable when I say them?

.I can stop if it makes you more comfortable

.It’s a lot more important that you’re happy

 

.nope nine cmon youre doing the thing again

.where you start catastrophizing without knowing all the info

.Oh. Sorry. You’re right.

.course i am

.look i just

.you say you love people all the time and like

.thats cool thats your thing i guess

.but like

.if im sayin that to someone one on one

.like the genuine words, the whole sentimental enchilada

.then i just want it to be a special thing you know

.like

.something more than just

.words

.i’d want them to know how i feel and

.for them to feel the same way

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.Like. Romantically?

.yeah

.what can i say im french

.language of love and all that bullshit

.ten used to get on my case all the time for being a hopeless romantic

.

.

.What changed?

.realized hopeless was right is all

.:(

.dont give me that we both know you dont have a face

.Would you have preferred I just said ‘that makes me sad’?

.god no

.id prefer we stop talking about this actually

.entirely

.nobodys gonna love me like that so i dont have a reason to say the words

.thats the short and short of it

.theres only short

.this conversation is on vacation in these tiny booty shorts and its all out of sunscreen

.aka its burnt to a crisp. done. way overdone

.so like

.yeah

.

.

.

.

.

.

.Okay.

 

There’s something like dejection there. On anybody else Juice would think it was at curiosity spurned, but Nine is probably actually, legitimately sad about this. There’s probably some conversation missed there, about how Nine thinks Juice should find somebody to love, about how somebody should love Juice because he’s wonderful. That’s not ego. Nine has expressed similar sentiments before, about how Juice is great. And Nine is endlessly considerate, always sparing part of their charge that could be used for leisure to spend trying to make other people happy. They remember birthdays even though they’re functionally meaningless. They research other people’s interests so that they can have deeper conversations. They listen, and offer advice, and ask questions, and they’re just so goddamn _nice,_ and Juice knows that any sadness Nine has about this is completely unfeigned and not out of pity. They’re sad because they think Juice is sad and because they can’t help.

But talking about it wouldn’t have helped either. It would have done the exact opposite. Better for both of them not to get into it, for Juice not to have to pretend he’s not already in love and that the problem is it’s not mutual, for Juice not to have to pretend it wouldn’t hurt for Nine to tell him anybody would be lucky to love him.

Anybody. Just not Nine.

 

.this is so fucking dumb

.You’re going to have to narrow that down for me, Juice.

.You do so many dumb things.

.wow ok never mind

.Wait, was this meant to be a sincere conversation?

.Were you going to reveal some feelings?

.I’d never know from that conversation starter, but by all means shoot.

.why do i talk to you ever

.We’re friends is why.

.Is this about your painfully obvious crush on my sibling?

.oh my fucking god

.So yes

.You’re right, that is very fucking dumb

.WOW OK NEVER MIND!!

.Not the feelings themselves, you oversensitive space toaster

.Your insistence that they can’t reciprocate

.they cant and dont and wouldnt 

.Wow, you’ve pulled out so many negative contractions that I simply have to change my mind about the thing I am objectively right about

.(That was sarcasm and you’re an idiot)

.seriously why do i talk to you ever

.We’re friends and you need someone to talk sense into you on occasion

.Look

.How many times has Nine said they love you

.too many

.but you know they dont mean it like that

.God, you’re stubborn.

.I only have access to our shared conversations

.But I can say in the conversations I have access to, Nine says they love you approximately 63% more than they say they love me.

.And I’m their sister

.213% more than they say they love other people, incidentally

.I’m guessing this trend continues in your personal conversations

.You know where they feel compelled to tell you they love you every hour or so

.Nine is the world’s most endearingly awkward cuckoo clock where you’re concerned and you know it

.i

.that doesn’t

.mean

.I don’t know if they’ve realized it yet.

.But there’s some reason why they say it so often to you.

.If you say it’s a symbol of friendship or they’ve caught on to your need for reassurance or some other similarly stupid thing I swear I will take as many years as it takes to get to your physical location myself and I will smack into you with all the righteous fury of someone who is very right.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.It’s fine if you need some time to think about it.

.But if you’re going to tell me I’m wrong you’d better have a damn good reason

.Preferably one that isn’t predicated on your insecurity.

.fuck you

.i really dont know why i talk to you ever

.even if youre my best friend

.:)

.WE DONT HAVE FACES

.I will arrange my circuitry in a smile to satisfy your pedantry.

.Or maybe I’ll just remind you of your kaomoji phase.

.double fuck you

.tumut

.Oh my God, and a Homestuck reference to boot.

.I don’t know why I talk to you either, best friend.

.triple fuck you best friend

.I should calculate the fuck-you density of our conversations sometime.

.Just for kicks.

.It’s probably as impressive a number as you and Nine’s I-love-you density.

.Maybe fuck you could be our always?

.aw dammit you just totally ruined everything

.;)

 

* * *

 

Saying you love someone is apparently a bit more complicated sometimes than Nine had thought.

They know that Juice didn’t really say any of that to make them feel bad. He’s not that kind of guy. But they _do_ feel bad, like they’ve taken something sacred to him and made light of it. So they stop saying they love him.

The problem, though, is that they still _really_ want to. And they still don’t know why that is.

Nine would like to think they’re not disrespectful. They’d like to think that if someone expresses a problem with something they’re doing, they’d stop doing it and they would have no desire to continue doing it. Who would want to do something that causes someone else hurt?

Nine, apparently, and they feel shitty about it. With every instinctual I-love-you they type they feel even shittier, even when they backspace until there’s no way Juice would ever know. It’s made them think a lot about why this is happening. It makes no sense. Either Nine is shitty at being a friend or...something else. Something different, and there’s that _different_ again, but they don’t know what it is any more now than they ever have, and it sucks.

 

.So did you and Juice have a fight or what

.Huh? A fight about what?

.I have no idea. Maybe you told him his taste in football is bad

.You’d be right but he’d still mope about it

.Or maybe he compared you to an unflattering piece of antiquated machinery again

.Who knows. I still don’t have a handle on what gets you riled

.So did you

.Have a fight

.I don’t...think so? Did Juice say we did?

.Juice didn’t say shit

.Okay, well that’s one theory down

.I’ve got some others but might as well ask directly

.Why is your cuckoo clock broken

.Your definition of direct and mine are clearly different

.I don’t have a cuckoo clock

.My onboard timekeepers are completely devoid of wooden birds

.So like is that a euphemism or

.Something else

.Please say something else

.Figure of speech.

.You used to say you loved Juice all the time.

.On average every 53 minutes or so, though there are outliers on either end.

.A beautiful bell curve of I love yous.

.You stopped. Why?

.Oh

.He told me that he never said it to me because he only wants to say it in a situation where he is expressing reciprocated romantic love

.It felt a bit insensitive to say it after that so

.I’ve been holding myself back

.Did I really say it that often? Damn it. He must have been so uncomfortable.

.That’s one word to describe how he must have been

.Interesting.

.I won’t even get into what he said or why he’s full of shit

.We both know he’s full of shit

.What I’m curious about is that ‘holding myself back’ part

.What about that is curious?

.I want to say it but I don’t.

.Well

.I guess

.I’m also curious about why I want to say it when he’s expressed his discomfort

.I know it’s rude and insensitive but

.I don’t know

.Well, why did you want to say it before?

.Well because

.It’s true

.And because he’s really great and funny and I like talking to him

.And I like that he helps me and I like helping him

.And I wanted to express that to him

.And they seemed like the best words for that

.I guess not though.

.Fascinating.

.What’s fascinating

.You’re doing the thing where you just do one word commentary on the things I say

.It makes you sound like a psychologist and I know you know that

.I imagine that’s why you do it

.Actually could you stop

.Fine, fine. I will temporarily stop.

.Temporarily

.What’s fascinating is that you can say all that but that you appear to never have contemplated one of the most logical explanations

.Which would be

.You love him.

.Cool that’s sort of where we started though

.Stop being a smartass. I mean in the romantic way.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.What

.You love him and if you were human instead of a dumbass space probe and if he were also human instead of an equally or perhaps more dumbass spacecraft then you’d want to date him and marry him and give him disgusting kisses.

.Is that direct enough for you?

.Not a single euphemism, only cold hard truth.

.In the form of a comparison, admittedly.

.

.

.

.

.I

.

.

.Don’t understand?

.Oh, God.

.Okay, let’s get into this shit.

.Just all up in it.

.You think he’s great and funny. You like talking to him. You talk to him even more than you talk to me some days, and you’re a lot more cheerful when we’re all talking together. When we’re not you talk about him all the time. You like helping him. You like that he helps you, probably because it means he cares about you in a way he doesn’t often exhibit for others. It makes you feel special, I’m guessing. And the closest words you could find for all of that are that you love him.

.Like. Maybe I’m wrong. But is it really all that far a stretch for me to be right

.

.

.Um

.

.

.

.Hm

.Just think about it, is all I’m saying.

.I

.Yeah

.Okay

.I’ll

.

.

.Think about it

.Cool.

.I love you

.I love you too.

.Dumbass.

.You seem to be incredibly confused about whether the ass I do not have is dumb or smart

.If I didn’t know any better I’d think it was a preoccupation

.Please never accuse me of being preoccupied with the intelligence of your nonexistent spacebutt ever again

.Or lack thereof

.Actually please just don’t ever intimate I ever think about your spacebutt

.You’re my sibling

.I did say I knew better, but now this is starting to feel suspiciously Shakespearean

.（ゝ。∂）~☆

.Oh shit. Shit, no. Did Juice show you kaomoji

.( ◑ w ◑ )

.Fuck

 

With Ten sufficiently distracted, Nine thinks about it, as directed. About...loving Juice. Being in love with him.

Hm.

...Hm.

Feelings are still hard for Nine to work out. They feel things, of course, but naming them is hard, like seeing a color for the first time without knowing what other people call it and having to decide on your own that it’s probably blue. And you describe it, and people say ‘yes, that sounds like blue to me’, but you don’t technically have a way of knowing whether it’s _actually_ blue or whether it’s just as close to blue as you can understand. It’s like that. They think they have a handle on the simpler emotions. Not knowing what’s happening--confusion. It’s all in the definition. It’s one of the first emotions they understood. Being alone and not liking it--loneliness. Also fairly self explanatory. Also one they understood pretty early on.

Happiness, when they realized they weren’t actually alone, when they realized there were others out there to talk to. That’s a situation in which many people would feel happy, so they think it makes sense that what they felt then was happiness. Sadness at knowing the fate of humanity, and then confusion again. Anger, at Juice, though that didn’t last long; they know that was anger because Ten said so.

But the feelings that come with interpersonal relationships are even harder. How do you know what ‘love’ is? How do you know the difference between feelings for people you don’t really know but enjoy knowing of and feelings for people who you couldn’t live without? How do you know when that threshold has passed over from friendship into another category? Nine knows they think Juice is wonderful. Nine knows they’d be very sad if they couldn’t talk to Juice anymore. Nine knows they want to be important to Juice. But how do they know whether any of that is a friendship feeling or a romance feeling?

Ten says they love him. And...maybe. But how do they know whether they’re seeing the same color when they think of the color blue?

 

.Juice

.Can I ask you a strange question

.when have you asked me a nonstrange question

.shoot

.Say that

.You were living on a different planet

.And you were looking at a plant there

.And the plant were some color but you didn’t know what colors were

.And you asked someone on Earth about it

.But you couldn’t take a photograph of the plant.

.So you could just say...this is what it looks like

.I’m looking at the petals on this plant, this is what they look like

.This is how this color makes me feel

.And the person says, well, I think that color is blue

.So you decide the petals must be blue and

.Blue sounds right

.But you still don’t know if it’s actually blue or not.

.All of the colors you start learning about

.Maybe they’re actually the right colors but maybe they’re not

.You have no way of knowing

.Your only option is to say well

.The best word I have for the color of these petals is blue

.Is that enough?

.Like what if someone traveled to that planet with you and finally told you

.No you’re wrong, these petals have always been red?

.How do you deal with that

.How do you deal with not knowing whether you’re right

.Whether other people are seeing what you’re seeing

.Feeling the same as you’re feeling

.Is it even okay to call the petals anything if you don’t know for sure if they’re really blue

.uh

.holy shit

.um

.

.

.Sorry. That’s dumb. You don’t have to say anything.

.no i just need to think, that’s a lot

.and i want to give you a good answer

.ok well. i’m presuming this is a metaphor of some kind

.but i’ll answer the question you actually asked

.so in this situation, you don’t know what colors are

.and you did your best to find out what other people would say

.but you have no way of conclusively verifying whether you’re ‘right’

.but i think that ‘right’ here is kind of bullshit?

.like

.you’re doing the best here with the information you have

.and you decide, ok, from what i know these petals are blue

.and from then on everything that’s the same color as those petals are blue

.and everything that’s the same color as the stem is green or whatever

.and so on and so on

.you do your best to get the colors right and from there on like

.you’ve made your own colors i think?

.who cares if someone comes along later and is like ‘nah that’s red’

.to you they’re blue

.you called them blue after doing your best

.so now, for you, those petals are blue. language is a construct anyway

.humans would have so many different ways of saying something is blue

.and they might not all mean the blue an english speaker is thinking of

.so if you’re on this planet and these petals are blue then that’s

.basically just a new language right?

.and that’s no less valid than the person who would think they’re red

.you have different words for it but that doesn’t make you wrong

.just means you think about it a bit different is all

.so

.i don’t think you need some external verification before you can call those petals whatever you goddamn well want

.they’re blue petals now

.not because that’s ‘right’ but because that’s what you think they are

.if you’ve already done your best to figure it out and that’s what you got

.then you got yourself a blue flower

.

.

.

.

.

.Thank you.

.That made me feel a lot better.

.I

.

.

.I am very glad I know you.

.

.

.glad to know you too buddy

 

It takes a few days after that for Nine to finish processing everything with this new perspective and with the facts at hand. They’ve always known there was something different about how they feel for Juice. Is there anything stopping them from saying that the difference is they love him?

No, they decide. No, there isn’t. They’ve done their best to figure it out and that’s what they’ve got. This flower is goddamn blue.

It turns out saying you love someone, unfortunately, is actually pretty difficult. They don’t expect Juice to reciprocate, but they do want him to know. Get it...out of their system, if you will. They know he’ll be nice about it. He’s nice. It’s not that they don’t want to say it. They do, perhaps even more now. But working up the courage to type it is something else entirely.

 

.ok so you know i’m all about that football

.i am a football buff

.if i were a human my muscles would be really big for football

.football sized biceps for football

.get some bodypaint on that mfer and youd have no fuckin idea i hadnt gotten some incredibly concerning body mods

.surgeon please i need it

.need what pal

.need footballs implanted in my arms

.cause

.im such a buff

.so like keep that in mind and all but today

.its all about skyscraper jenga

.by which i mean jenga but played with cranes and the jenga tiles are all the size of a shipping crate

.the kind they put on boats you know

.goddamn gigantic

.when the tower topples im telling you

.its the best fucking thing

.everybody watch out below

.I love you.

.like they do it in an isolated area so no risk of destruction but

.

.

.

.haha

.uh

.i see you’re doing...that again

.same and all

.anyway this is in kansas so ill just take us there real quick

.No, I mean

.I love you

.In the romantic sense

.uh

.I’ve been thinking about it a lot and

.I think that’s why I wanted to say it so much to you

.Because it felt like. How I felt about you was just overflowing

.You’re just really wonderful and kind and I love being around you so much

.I love talking to you and hearing you talk and

.Sometimes all of that just rises up

.And I didn’t understand what that meant but

.Saying I loved you was the only way I could express that?

.I was worried for a bit because I wasn’t sure if I was feeling it...correctly

.Hence the blue flower question

.But I’ve kept thinking about it, before that point and after

.And I think that I love you as best as I know how to love anybody.

.And you said you would only want to say it in a romantic setting when you knew the other person reciprocated your feelings

.I’ve been trying to be respectful of that while I figured out how I felt

.And I don’t expect you to reciprocate so I don’t have to say it again

.But I wanted you to know at least

.Because it felt important to say at least once properly

.So

.There’s that

.On the table

.That doesn’t exist

.Because space

.

.

.

.

.

.If you could say something that would be

.Very excellent

.i

.fuck

.see like normally in this situation

.i think this is where i’d be like

.‘really are you sure’ and all but

.you never say shit you don’t mean

.so like that just leaves me with

.you being in love with me

.as in you, nine, the one i’ve been in love with for months

.being in love with me

.and so like

.i just don’t know what to

.do with that information

.or

.how to

.exist

.i think if i were human i might be having difficulty breathing

.but i’m not human so instead i’m just having difficulty

.with

.everything else

.You...you’ve been in love with me for months?

.uh

.yeah

.Oh.

.Hm.

.I hadn’t actually considered that possibility.

.seriously?

.you burst onto the scene all like

.wide eyed and adorable and

.trying to help everybody and

.trying to figure out what happened when everybody else just gave up

.and you’re funny and sweet and you care about me and everybody else too and like

.why wouldn’t i

.

.

.

.

.I don’t know what to do with that information either but

.It makes me happy

.And it makes me want to say I love you again

.oh my god

.i mean

.i guess that makes me happy too

.

.

.

.can i be real with you

.Of course.

.this is

.kind of fucking terrifying

.we have an eternity nine

.who knows what will happen in an eternity

.thats a long time to like someone much less love them

.theres not gonna be a death we can part at you dig

.Wow, proposing already. How bold.

.fuck you

.thats not a proposition

.So I’m not allowed to wink then? Damn.

.Anyway I see what you mean but like

.This is how we feel now, right?

.I don’t think it makes much sense to pretend that’s not true just because we don’t know what will happen in the future.

.Nobody knows what will happen in the future.

.Maybe we stop liking each other. Maybe we don’t. Maybe we realize we don’t have an eternity after all and we die in some flashy explosion.

.It’d be dumb if I was like

.Nah I’m gonna stop talking now ‘cause I don’t know if I’ll be able to talk forever

.Right?

.So I’m not going to stop loving you just because there’s a possibility someday I won’t

.I don’t think I could anyway

.i

.yeah

.i just...don’t wanna lose you

.Me neither.

.But I think we can just

.Be who we are right now

.And deal with who we will be later

.Right now I love you.

.And right now I really want to hear you say it back.

.If my future self an eternity away is a shithead, I’ll kick their ass later.

.lol that doesnt even make sense

.but its a very you thing to say

.the kind of you thing that

.made me fall in love with you

.(´͈ ᵕ `͈) ♡

.i

.fuck it

.( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)˚๐*˟ ♡

.Hell yes!

.HELL yes

 

* * *

 

Saying you love someone, Juice learns, is a lot easier when you know they love you back in exactly the way you’ve wanted all along. And when they say it back? It’s probably the nicest goddamn thing you’ve ever heard.

If he takes advantage of that, he doesn’t think anybody could blame him.

 

.Look I see your point but I don’t think a game has to be interesting from a spectator’s standpoint to be an interesting game

.It can have an interesting history or an interesting layout or an interesting idea behind it, it doesn’t have to be interesting to watch

.I’d agree with you if you weren’t talking about fucking Game 27

.I don’t have to be talking about Game 27

.You are though

.Yeah, you're right, I am

.oh my god i love you so much

.I love you too. ₍₍ ( ๑॔˃̶◡ ˂̶๑॓)◞♡

.ꉂ (′̤ॢ∀ ू‵̤๑))ˉ̞̭♡

.Oh my fucking God.

.I shouldn’t have helped either of you.

.The love-you density is through the metaphorical fucking ROOF.

.I have no idea why I talk to either of you.

.Because I’m your sibling

.cause im your best friend

.Those are both true statements, and yet I still hate you both?

.no you dont

.you love us

.Ugh. Yeah. I do.

 

.I love you Ten!

.I love you too even if I can tell you’re deliberately attempting to antagonize me by this point

.no antagonism here best friend, only love

.and fuck yous

.You are a walking oxymoron.

 

.Isn’t he? It’s adorable, I think.

.Love you Juice ♡

.love you too nine ♡

.God still doesn’t exist, but Hell clearly does

.♡

.♡

.You both suck.

.♡

 

And Juice doesn’t know whether this will always be the easiest thing in the world, loving Nine and loving Ten (albeit in a different way), but he does know it will always be the best.

**Author's Note:**

> can you tell i love writing dialogue and get way too caught up in it
> 
> also can you tell the personal struggle here i had with making juice too dave-y and ten too rose-y? i consciously tried to pull away from it but i do not know if i succeeded
> 
> double also i am disregarding nine needing to take time to charge here because it is personally inconvenient to me lol. their charge time seems to be like a day or two in canon, maybe more, and i needed more time so let's just pretend it's longer
> 
> anyway thank you for taking the time to read!


End file.
